CHAPTER NINETEEN
Frisk sat in the chair next to Sans' bed, her eyes refusing to stay open. She'd never felt so horrible in her whole life, but she refused to leave his side.
Every single bone in her body ached like she had somehow bruised them all. Her stomach couldn't handle the smell of anything remotely like food, and her head pounded as if she'd downed ten shots of vodka the night before.
They had only been home for a few hours, but still the monsters all seemed keener on discussing the extra monster they found in the lab rather than explaining what had happened to her. She decided she didn't care; she would just wait patiently for Sans to wake up.
Gaster had used healing magic to heal the crack in Sans' sternum as best as he could. There would be a scar, and Gaster could only barely say he was okay with that. One, at least his son was alive. Two, the scar wouldn't be nearly as noticeable as his own.
Sans had begun breathing again after they'd laid him in bed and Gaster healed his bones. That was also when Frisk started to feel like her life force was being drained. She had already figured they had something to do with each other. She knew that whatever had happened to her was because she'd touched his soul, but she didn't regret a moment of it. She just hoped she'd been able to help, even if only a little.
She got up only when she needed to go to the bathroom. She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. She was surprised by what she saw.
Her eyes, normally brown, were now blue. Their shape hadn't changed; they were still thin almonds surrounded by an oval face with plump cheeks that made her look more like a child than a grown woman. Her hair was dark brown and messy. She grabbed a brush and pulled it through the tangled mess. She noticed a patch on the top that had turned blue. The heck?
She yawned and leaned forward to inspect the patch of blue hair. It shimmered as if it was somehow still connected to Sans' magic. Huh.
"All this to save your boyfriend," she muttered to her reflection. She smiled ironically. "Don't gripe; you know you'd do it a million times over if it meant you got to keep him. You love the twerp." She laughed and shook her head. "I sure as hell do love him."
After another yawn, she did her business, washed her hands, and went back to Sans.
The first thing she noticed was that his eyes were open. She gasped and ran to the bed before she remembered that he was still very fragile. She had to be careful with him.
"What happened?" he asked groggily.
She sat down gingerly next to him and took his hand. "Do you remember anything?"
He shook his head, then stopped abruptly. "Actually yes." He was quiet for a minute. "How did you find me?"
She sniffled and wiped a tear from her face before she could answer him. "It wasn't just me. Your dad, Paps, Undyne, and Alphys were all there with me." She lifted his hand kissed the back of it. "They took your soul out of you, Sans." She was openly crying now. "I've never been so scared in my life."
He lifted a finger and wiped a tear off her cheek. "I'm okay now, baby."
She sniffled again and leaned down to kiss him. "I need to tell the others that you're awake."
He nodded and rested back as he let her walk away. He was going to have to do something about her soon. He sensed it the moment he became conscious again—his magic was killing her.
Frisk waited in the living room while each of the monsters took their turn with Sans. Not surprisingly, Gaster was the first to go in the room, followed closely by Papyrus. She smiled as she overheard Papyrus' overly-excited reenactment of the rescue.
Sans thought it was pretty cool that Papyrus had held back a second wave of guardsmen. Of course, Sans thought almost everything Papyrus did was cool. He made sure to let his brother know that, too. He also made sure to let his brother know that he owed a dollar to the swear jar.
"Please don't ever do anything so reckless again." Gaster placed a hand on his son's head.
Sans looked over at Gaster and smiled weakly. "I can't promise that, Dad. If those fucks didn't try to kill you, I wouldn't have done that."
Gaster thought about that for a second. "I suppose, if they had been aiming at you, I would have done the same thing."
Sans nodded. "I know you would have. And I would have tried to make you promise the same stupid thing about not being reckless. Aren't we a pair?"
Gaster huffed a half-laugh. "We sure are, my son."
Alphys and Undyne were next. Undyne's explanation of the rescue was far more violent and had Sans laughing so hard his ribs hurt. It didn't take much; his sternum still ached even after his father had healed him.
Frisk looked up when the monsters left the room. She wanted to get up and go back in to be near Sans again, but she wasn't sure her legs would be strong enough. The pain in her bones had gotten far worse; even sitting up hurt. Her soul ached to be near him. She decided the agony of walking would be worth it once she was near him. Maybe she could even lay next to him.
She winced as she stood up. Before she could even take a step, her vision turned blue and she collapsed.
"Frisk!" Alphys cried. She was at her friend's side in a moment. "Gaster, come here quickly!"
"What's going on?" Sans called out. He winced; it hurt. "Is she okay?"
"We need to get her in next to Sans," Gaster said quickly.
He picked her up with magic and carried her gingerly into the room.
Sans pushed himself up on his elbows. "What happened?"
"She collapsed. You need to get your magic out of her, Sans." Gaster laid her gently on the bed next to Sans. "Try to be careful. It will be a strain on you."
Sans looked up at his dad, scared. He was already weak to begin with. "Will it hurt her?"
Gaster looked down. He didn't want to tell his son it would probably hurt as badly coming out as it did going in. At least she was unconscious at the moment. "No more so than what she's been going through."
Sans nodded. "How do I do this?"
Gaster sat in the chair next to the bed. "It's nothing more than gathering your magic, but instead of pooling it from inside yourself, you're going to call it back to you. Human souls are almost always in their chest area. Put your hand there, and call."
Sans nodded again. "Okay." He put his hand on her chest, trying not to blush when he realized he was touching both of her breasts. He cleared his throat and reminded himself of his mission. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and imagined himself gathering magic from within Frisk.
Gaster watched proudly as Frisk began to glow light blue. The light amassed under Sans' hand and flowed up his arm and into him.
Immediately, Sans felt stronger. Once he was sure he'd gotten every bit of magic out of Frisk, he pulled his hand back and kissed her head.
"How long until she wakes up?" he asked, looking to Gaster.
Gaster wished he had a better answer. "I'm not sure. She's very strong, but she needs to heal." He looked down at his hands. "I'm not sure if my healing power would do her any good or if it would damage her more."
Sans nodded. "Let's not try it yet."
~LM~
The first thing Frisk was aware of was the soft, steady snoring of Sans next to her. She smiled to herself and opened her eyes, looking over at him.
His face was so close to her she could probably kiss him if she stretched just a little. His closed eyes and peaceful features made her eyes tear up. Her heart was happy to see him safe. His arm was around her middle, holding her tightly in his sleep. It was a nice reminder of how close they were even when she closed her eyes.
Except she had to get up. She kissed him gently and tried to pry his hand off of her.
Sans grunted and opened his eyes. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. Frisk's dark eyes smiling at him made his soul feel light again. He looked up, relieved that the strange blue streak was gone from her hair as well.
"Good morning," he said softly.
"Good morning." She kissed him again. "I need to get up for a second."
He shook his head and pulled her closer. "Nah. I need you to stay right here forever and never leave me again." He ducked his head and kissed her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
She thought about that for a second before she could answer him. Her bones didn't hurt nearly as bad anymore. Her muscles felt strong again as well. "I think I'm okay."
"You really scared me, Frisk."
She made him look up at her and kissed him again. "I guess we freaked each other out."
He nodded. "I'm sorry I was so stupid, baby. I never meant—"
She put her fingers over his teeth to quiet him.
"It's all over now, Sans. You're safe, I'm still alive, and we're together. That's all that matters." She kissed him one more time. "What happened, anyway?"
"I sucked the poison out."
She pursed her lips. "Your magic isn't poison. Besides, that's not what I meant. What happened to me?"
"It actually is poison, to you. Humans aren't made to withstand magic, whereas monsters are literally made of magic. When you touched my soul, you absorbed some of my magic. It's what made you capable of putting down twenty soldiers. I'd say that was awesome if I didn't already know what would happen. Humans aren't supposed to be able to absorb magic, but then again it's not very often that one of you gets to touch a raw monster soul."
She gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean we aren't supposed to absorb magic? How did I do it, then?"
Sans nuzzled her shoulder as he answered her. "The only times I've ever heard of it happening—a human touching a monster soul, I mean—was during the war. When a monster dies, our soul comes out of our body for a few seconds. Most humans that tried to capture the monster soul were killed instantly. Electrocuted to death. I think I've heard of two humans who didn't die instantly. I'm not sure why; I think it has something to do with their own souls and how they interact with monsters. But they were infected and died a day or two later." He kissed her shoulder and looked up at her. "The only way to get the magic out is to have the monster to whom it belongs get it out. A monster can't call back another monster's magic. If I had died, you would have as well."
Frisk didn't like that. "I'm not so sure I would have wanted to live without you anyway."
His brow bones furrowed, and he shook his head. "Don't say that Frisk. I mean it. You have your mom and MK to live for; they need you, too."
As he spoke, he let his hand begin travelling up and down her side. He stopped when he felt a lump in her pocket. He smirked.
"Is that something in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
Frisk snorted. "You're the one who can conjure a penis, you dork."
Sans reached in and pulled out the small box. He stared at it for a second before looking up to meet her eyes.
"I do," he said softly.
She looked down and stiffened when she saw the box. She had forgotten all about the contact lens.
"Oh, crap!" She grabbed it from him and got up, rushing out of the room before she could explain.
"Alphys!" she hollered as she looked around for the yellow monster. "Alphys, I need your help."
Sans stared after her, not sure what to think. The ring box in her pocket…had she been holding onto it for Alphys? He wanted to be thrilled for his two best friends, but why would Frisk have reacted so terribly at his misunderstanding? Did the idea of marrying him seem that bad? It had seemed like the most natural idea in the world to him. Perhaps it was better this way.
He shook his head at himself and slowly stood up. He obviously didn't have the whole picture. With a groan and stiff bones, he slipped on a shirt and made his way after Frisk.